The Lord's Church
(Part A)

There is one other thing that concerns our salvation that I would like
for us to look at in the Bible. In response to Peter's confession to
Jesus in Matthew 16:16 that, "You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God". Jesus then says in Matthew 16:18, "On this rock I
will build My church." To whom was this church to belong?
"My" is possessive, which shows the church belongs to Jesus. How many churches did Jesus say He was going to build? He said He was
going to build "My church", which is singular not plural. The
Lord only promised to build His one church.

In Ephesians 4:4-6 there are seven ones listed: "There is
one
body, and one Spirit, even as you were called in one
hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all, and through
all, and in you all." Just as there is only one God and only one Lord
we also see there is only one body. The Bible says there is only one
body; so what is this one body? In Ephesians 1:21-22 we find
out what this one body is, "And He put all things under His
feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which
is His body." Here we see that the Bible says the church is
the body. So if there is only one body and the one body
is the church, then there can only be one church that belongs to
the Lord.

In Colossians 1:18 in speaking of Christ, we read, "And He is the
head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead; that in all things He may have the preeminence."
Here again we see that the body (singular) is the church (singular). Again
the Bible tells us that the Lord has only one church. We also see that
in all things Christ is to have the preeminence. For Christ to
have the preeminence in all things, we must follow Christ in all things
and not follow man. If we follow men in some things then Christ does not
have the preeminence in all things.

Since Christ only built His one church, we need to ask where did all
these other churches come from? The only answer is they were built by men,
so men could "attend the church of their choice", and not God's
choice. We read in Ephesians 5:23, "Christ is the head of the
church, and he is the savior of the body." Christ is only
the saviour of His one body, His one church. He is going to only save His
one church, the only one for which He died.

We have seen in the Bible that the one body is the one church, which
the Lord built. We have also seen that Christ has only promised to save
His one body, His one church. What then is going to happen to the hundreds
of different kinds of other churches we see in existence today? Again let
us let God answer this question. In Matthew 15:13 Jesus said, "Every
plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted."
What will happen to all those churches that God did not plant? They will
be rooted up. This is what God has said He will do. This is frightening. I
want to make sure I am in the Lord's church, the only one He is going to
save.

In Psalms 127:1 we read, "Except the Lord build the house, they
labor in vain that build it." No one has the right to start a
church or religious organization that is different from the one Jesus
built. But we see hundreds of different kinds of churches that men
have built, each with a different creed. We must recognize the
difference between the church the Lord built and the many counterfeit
churches men have built. Why not be a member of the
church that Jesus built, the church of Christ so you can go to
heaven. This is a sad but serious situation; one that concerns me
greatly and causes me much grief and sorrow to see honest people, who are
honestly mistaken, laboring in vain. This is a supreme tragedy.

Questions Lesson 22

The Lord's Church
(Part A)(click on the button of the answer of your
choice)

1) (Matthew 16:18) How many different churches did the Lord say
he was going to build?

Many so we could attend the church of our choice.

More than 500.

My (possessive) Church (singular), in other words one.

2)
Christ
built only His church.

3) (Ephesians 4:4-6) There are how many bodies?

One.

One hundred.

One thousand

4)
There
is only one body.

5) (Ephesians 1:21-22) What is this one body?

There is not one body but many bodies.

All the different kinds of churches.

The (Lord's) Church.

6)
The
Lord only has His one body, the church.

7) (Colossians 1:18) Christ is the head of

The body, the church.

Many different kinds of churches.

No church.

8)
Christ is the head of all different kinds of churches.

9) (Ephesians 5:23) Christ is going to save

His body which is His Church.

All the different religious bodies (churches).

No church.

10)
Christ
is the Saviour of the church He established.

11) (Matthew 15:13) Those plants which God has not planted

God will accept.

God will water and cultivate.

Shall be rooted up.

12)
Those plants which God has not planted shall be saved.

13) (Psalms 127:1) If the Lord has not built the house

They labor in vain who build it.

It doesn't matter if the Lord has not built it.

Those who labor in it are accepted.

14)
People
labor in vain if they are in a house the Lord did not build.